


Shipwrecked

by Peeta4Ever



Category: Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Shipwrecked, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-01-15 06:04:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 3,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21248645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peeta4Ever/pseuds/Peeta4Ever
Summary: What if Darcy's infamous proposal is interrupted by some tragic news for Elizabeth? What happens when Elizabeth finds herself on a ship bound for Ireland as a paid companion and meets the one man she has swore to loath for all eternity? What if these two people find themselves shipwrecked on an island all alone...





	1. Before

**Author's Note:**

> So my original goal was to write an entire Pride and Prejudice variation and self publish on Amazon Kindle. However, I find the task to be much more daunting then I had anticipated. I'm having a hard time keeping my dialogue and motives true to Jane Austen's beloved characters; especially Darcy, who was a slightly underdeveloped character to begin with in the novel. I also am not sure where I'm headed as far as plot, so bear with me. I'd appreciate any feedback, good or bad! This is my attempt to improve my writing chops; I am by no means an accomplished or even proficient writer. I fell in love with the original P&P and then fell down a rabbit hole of P&P fan fiction and novella's on amazon. I love a good survival; castaways, us against the elements- style story and felt this variety was sorrily lacking in the land of Austen fanfic. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

‘In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love….’ (Austen)

Before Mr. Darcy could continue his avowal of love, an express rider came galloping up the drive. Both set of eyes turned to the noise as Charlotte’s harried maid burst in with the missive. 

‘Beggin' your pardons, it is an express from Longbourn, Miss Elizabeth.’ 

A wide-eyed Elizabeth snatched the letter, anything to relieve the tension that hung in the air. It was only but a moment before a broken sob escaped her lips.

‘It is my father… he is dead.’


	2. 2

Death had come to Longbourn. An infectious fever that swept through the household, killing both old and young, gentry and servent alike.

By the time a sleek carriage bearing the Darcy crest careened into Loungborn's drive, Mrs. Hill (the Bennets dutiful housekeeper) and a lowly stable boy were all that remained to greet Elizabeth.

Mr.bennet had been struck first; taking to his library after supper one unremarkable evening, with clammy palms and a sweaty brow. A maid would find him some time later slumped in his chair, pulse weak and fever raging. 

The local doctor directly summoned, arrived only in time to pronounce Thomas James Bennet, Master of Loungborn, dead.

It was with many flutterings and fits of nerves, Mrs. Bennet took to her own sick bed next. She was discovered dead the following afternoon, though Dr. Brown would later attest the fever had not yet gripped the Mistress of the house. She instead suffered a great apoplexy as she ranted and cried, 'Oh what is to become of us?! Mr. Colins will surely toss us into the hedgerows! How could Mr. Bennet be so selfish to die so? Did the man ever consider my poor nerves!' 

The others followed soon after. Kitty, Lydia, Mary, the upstairs maid, Cook, Mr. Hill, a new born babe in the Felcher tenent household, and so on and so forth.

Only dear, sweet, Jane Bennet had been spared. She was residing with her Aunt and Uncle Gardner in London when her own urgent missive had arrived.


	3. Chapter 3

Jane and Mr. Gardner’s carriage came to a sudden halt on the main road to Meryton some two days later. A lone figure was ambling along the middle of the path, two pails of ice dangling from her pale arms. 

‘Lizzy, what on earth are you doing?’ Jane called from the open carriage door as they pulled to her side. 

‘Oh, Jane! Uncle! Elizabeth looked up, the fatigue in her voice belaying her surprise. ‘Thank heaven you have come. Bless you Uncle, I did not know what we were to do without a man to attend the funerals. Papa has been laid out for nearly a sennight already.’

‘Funerals?! More than one, Lizzy?’ her Uncle queried in surprise. 

Elizabeth blinked several times and continued to trudge along the lane. 

‘Yes, they’re all gone now’ Elizabeth trailed off, shaking her head. ‘Mrs. Hill was certain we would not have enough ice for them all. The Lucas’ were most disobliging, making me stand and yell from the yard for just two pails. It will be a great joke on them when Charlotte moves in and they find their daughters carpets smelling of the dead,’ she laughed hollowly. 

Elizabeth looked down quite puzzled as a soft pair of arms wound tightly around her; her hard-won cargo lifted away by large, callused hands. 

‘My dear Lizzy,’ were the only words Jane need utter before Elizabeth again burst into tears. 


	4. Chapter 4

The two sisters held tightly to one another as their family was buried in a mass grave on a rainy day in early April. It was a bleak affair, with the five wooden caskets lined up and lowered one by one into the muddy earth. Neighbours and acquaintances alike came to pay their respects and to also whisper in despairing tones; 

‘What a waste the Bennet girls’ beauty has been, for as penniless orphans they will be no object of desire for any man of consequence now.’

‘Tossed to the hedgerows, as Fanny Bennet had always said, if not for their Uncle’s generosity.’

‘That dreadful Collins fellow has no shame.’

Before Jane and Elizabeth had had time to don their black, Mr. Collins- with a deeply chagrined Charlotte in tow- and at the non-to-gentle prompting of his former patroness Lady Catherine De Bourgh, arrived to claim his rightful place as new master and heir. 

Thus, as the mourners departed and the trunks were loaded, Lizzy and Jane found themselves on their way to London, and the Bennet’s of Longbourn were no more.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please bear with me, after this chapter the story really starts to take off. As advised in the comments I've tried to make this chapter slightly longer. I find my writing comes in short bursts or not at all. 
> 
> Let me know what you think!

A strange fog hung over Elizabeth as she sat in her Aunt’s parlor in Cheapside, sipping tea and emulating the perfect hostess. Though she bobbed a curtsy at the correct time, offered refreshments with a gracious, albeit tight-lipped smile, and gave the appearance of a polite audience; the gentleman’s words held no meaning. 

Jane had to twice tap Lizzy’s foot, concealed by their lavender gowns that brushed together as they shared the settee, so that she might answer the civil inquires with more than a passing nod. Finally, the allotted time for the call was up and Mr. Chippering made his farewell bow. Sweet, retiring Jane turned to her younger sister and addressed her rather sternly. 

‘Lizzy, I do not believe you heard a single word the gentleman said! I know for certain you prefer Mozart to Beethoven. And you have NOT been to the theatre this season! Uncle would never force you to entertain Mr. Chippering if he is not to your liking, but there is no need to lie to the gentleman!’ This uncharacteristically harsh reproof from the elder sister was softened as she brushed an errant curl from Elizabeth’s shoulder and asked in a soft voice, ‘Lizzy, are you feeling well?’

‘Oh Jane, I do not know what is the matter with me!’ Elizabeth sighed heavily as she slunk down into the sofa in a most unladylike position. It grieved her so to tell Jane a falsehood. 

Truthfully, Elizabeth felt it all in bad taste to be receiving callers- especially eager bachelors, when she had just the day before laid her remaining black gown in the bottom of her trunk. It had been six months but even the muted greys and lavenders of half mourning seemed far too cheery for Elizabeth. The memories of her family weighed heavily upon her shoulders, and though she was not of the disposition to stay sad for long, the precarious circumstances which the sisters found themselves in was greatly hindering her plight for light-heartedness. 

The Gardner’s were a large, growing family. With four children and a fifth on the way, Jane and Elizabeth just barely managed to squeeze into their modest two-story home. Their relations would never admit it, but money was strained with two extra mouths to feed. Elizabeth had spied on more than one occasion her Uncle sighing and cursing over the account books in his study; her Aunt murmuring urgently in his ear while a worried hand caressed her increasing form. 

It was precisely three months after the funeral that Edward Gardner began to bring young business associates and old-but wealthy male acquaintances in droves to their front parlor. Jane and Elizabeth were often left to play hostess.

‘Can you not see what they are about, Jane?’ Elizabeth had furiously whispered one night after a particularly strained day of entertaining. ‘They wish to marry us off!’ 

'Our Uncle and Aunt only want to see us taken care of. Is that really so terrible, Lizzy?' Jane had voiced in return.

Elizabeth was not so sanguine about her relatives (however kind spirited and well-meaning), playing match maker; especially given the ugly memories of Mr. Collins’ and her dear departed mama's failed scheming. 

Given the choice, Elizabeth would much rather go into service. As a governess or nanny she could choose her positions as she saw fit. She need not accept the first offering, as what might be expected, should some lonely tradesman make the unforgivable offense of asking for her hand. 

Yes, Elizabeth decided, she would make her own plans to secure her future.

It was with this resolve that Elizabeth remained biddable but indifferent to gentlemen like Mr. Chippering who frequented their parlor. Her lively nature and impertinent remarks locked away as she bid her time. Jane, sweet as she was, bore their attentions with, if not true interest, at least sincere civility. 

Lizzy straightened from her slumped position on the settee just as the butler entered with the afternoon post; in it an answering letter from Mrs. Margret Jennings, accepting Elizabeth as her paid companion. 

They would sail for Ireland in a fortnight.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's taken literally half a year to update. I'm not particularly thrilled with how this chapter came out but at this point it's now or never.

Mrs. Margret Jennings, Elizabeth discovered rather quickly, was quite the conundrum. 

Recently widowed and having fallen into considerable wealth, the lady of two and sixty wished to fulfill her long-repressed youthful fantasies of travel and adventure. Quite fearless in her ideologies, she formulated a plan to take a grand tour of the Continent! This particular wish however was undermined by the graying-lady’s propensity for illness- both real and imaginary- that kept her abed most of her waking hours.

Lizzy spent her first day of service administering lemonade, foul-smelling draughts, and ground herb concoctions- compulsory to her employer’s continued survival. Elizabeth found her patience tried and tested as she nodded in sympathy with the women who oscillated between feverishness and chilled, aching all over and no place in particular, and other such undefinable symptoms. Had Mrs. Jennings not been prone to suffer prolonged spells of confused silence at least once a day, the lady would have been much like how Elizabeth imagined her own mama- had she lived to her dotage. 

Despite an apprehension of her duties as nurse-maid, Elizabeth was determined to be content with her new situation as a traveling companion.

Unfortunately, upon the day of their departure, Elizabeth found herself in rather poor spirits. She secretly wondered if Jane would have made the better companion with her good nature and gentle temperament? Now as Elizabeth clutched Mrs. Jennings arm tightly to her side as the pair traversed the dark passage to their accommodations on the ship, a knot of doubt formed in her stomach; something dark and forbodding. 


	7. Chapter 7

The magnitude of Mrs. Jennings wealth, Elizabeth quickly realized, had been grossly exaggerated. 

Their room on board was small, cramped and dark. One sagging bed, a stool and a small washstand were all the room could boast save for their trunks. The walls and the floors were wood paneled with a distinctly musty odor emanating from between the boards.

Elizabeth vowed to spend as much time aboveboard as possible. 

She was in luck, for Mrs. Jennings rotund figure made their journey up the gangplank and to their cabin particularly tiring. The lady insisted upon laying down to rest for 'at least a fortnight!', leaving Lizzy free to explore.

Above, Elizabeth found the ship to be a flurry of activity. Sailors smartly dressed in their uniforms bustled about with ropes and crates and other such things, preparing the ship to depart. The others who milled about were mostly business men and merchants judging by their dress. Some small groups stood about smoking pipes and debating the price of ship stocks. Others hung over the railings, waving to loved ones down below on the dock. Only a few well-dressed gentlemen strolled about the deck, one poor man already feeling the effects of sea was leaning over the railing toward the stern, expelling the contents of his stomach.

Elizabeth found purchase on a rail close to the bow of the ship and gazed out over the rippling waters. The sun was not quite high noon, with only a few white billowy clouds marring the bright sky. This might have been a great adventure, she thought, had it not come about in such circumstances. No loving family stood on the docks to see her off. Elizabeth knew there was a good chance she might not even ever return to England. The thought of never seeing her dear, sweet Jane again was enough to bring tears to her eyes. 

Elizabeth willed them not to fall as she blindly stared out into the water, annoyed with herself for being so weak-willed. Her effort was for naught as a number of stubborn droplets escaped over her lash line and down to the tight corners of her mouth. Determined to remove any evidence of her sorrow, Elizabeth fished out her handkerchief just as a strong breeze blow up over the railing and tugged the piece of cloth from her gloved hand.

‘Damn!’ she swore, non too quietly, too defeated to give chase. To her great embarrassment, a gentleman suddenly appeared at her side with the offending article in hand. Bracing herself, with cheeks flaming, Elizabeth turned to accept her handkerchief and nearly froze as she looked up and up and up into the face of Mr. Darcy!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To address some comments in regards to the bennet sisters wealth. I realized belatedly I had cut a section in the previous chapter explaining Mr. Bennet had died with many debts that had to be paid out through the girls dowery. Thus both girls only ended up with about 50 pounds a year each.This is obviously an AU in the P&P story so please don't read too much into plot holes like this one. I can assure you this story only deviates from source material even more the further you read. That said, I also am writing Darcy as a little more liberal with his emotions and speech. He was such an underdeveloped character in Austens original, it's hard to stay true and still get some semblance of that's going through his head. 
> 
> Basically I apologize if Darcy is OOC and for the many plot holes that are sure to come. 
> 
> That said, ENJOY!!
> 
> .

‘Mr. Darcy, sir!’ she spluttered. 

“Miss Elizabeth” he bowed and again extended her handkerchief. Though his face held the same inscrutable mask she had come to know of him, Elizabeth thought she detected there also a hint of mirth behind his eyes. “I believe this is yours.” 

As quick as the look had appeared, it vanished in favour of concern. 

‘Forgive me, Miss Elizabeth, are you well?’ 

‘Quite well, thank you, sir’ she replied brittlely, accepting the offending article and hastily stuffing it into the pocket of her travel dress. Had she not been happened upon in such a despondent mood, she might have pointed out Mr. Darcy ought to have addressed her as Miss Bennet seeing as to the lack of her sister’s presences. This thought alone caused her vision to swim once more. 

Dearest, Jane! Could the insufferable man not just leave her be? 

Elizabeth turned back towards the water, cheeks now reddening at her own breach of etiquette as she tried in vain to ignore the hulking man beside her.  


She could not see him from the angle under her bonnet but she could feel his presence. She thought he might take her silence as a dismissal. Evidently, he did not. Mr. Darcy cleared his throat as if to speak but said no more, his stance unchanged at her side.  


After more than a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Elizabeth could bear it no longer and abruptly turned to Darcy and spoke without ceremony.  


‘I am quite surprised to find you here, sir, I did not know you had business in Ireland?’  


What she really wished to say was ‘why, why, out of every other ship in the world you happened upon this one?’  


Elizabeth knew her anger was misplaced; her embarrassment at being caught in such an emotional state raising her ire. Mr. Darcy had not been so completely insufferable the last time she had seen him at Rosings’. It seemed as though a lifetime had passed since she had been habitually interrupted by the gentleman on her walks about the estate. His company had been unsolicited and their conversation silted, but the encounters had not been wholly repugnant. Certainly, it did not warrant her incivility and accusatory manners now. Such uncharitable thoughts on the man before with regards to wounded vanity and one Mr. Wickham now seemed like such senseless fodder for her temper.  


It had been in a letter from her dear Charlotte, those first few black weeks following the funeral- news that Mr. Wickham had abandoned his post in the militia to elope with a Miss Mary King, with 10 000 pounds. Rumors about town were that he had left many debts of honour with fellow officers, to say nothing of the hefty unpaid tabs with Meryton shopkeepers and the sullied reputation of their daughters. Wickham had proven not to be a man of honour and Elizabeth did not think it wholely unethical that Mr. Darcy had denied Wickham a place in the church when his person lacked such necessary prudence and moral fiber.  


'I have a business investment I wish to personally investigate.’  


As vague and taciturn as always. But then what had she been expecting, Lizzy chided herself- asking such an impertinent question.  


'I see. Well I wish you luck in your endeavors, Mr. Darcy.’  


A curt nod was his reply as silence enveloped them once more. Elizabeth turned back to look out over the rail but was startled when a moment later Darcy’s voice sounded again, this time much closer to her ear; gentle and deep.  


'You must allow me to express my sincerest condolences, Miss Elizabeth...I lost my own mother at the tender age of twelve. She died birthing my sole sister, Georgiana. My father passed away most suddenly some five years ago now. I know too well the all-consuming grief and heartache of losing ones parents. I can only imagine and be fearful of what it must be like to lose a beloved sister, to say nothing of three.’  


Lizzy could not help but to twist her neck sharply to stare up into the gentleman's face. Such a speech was not one Elizabeth would have ever imagined coming from the man before her. She searched his eyes then for a morsel of insincerity, contempt; for what exactly Elizabeth was not certain. Instead she met crystalline blue, deep enough to drown in. His cheek bones and jaw line were still as strong as ever, his nose stately and straight, his lips full and bordering on pouty when pressed in a line. His proud mien could rival many a marble statue. Yet his eyes held a certain softness to them, and a look that Elizabeth could only ever recall seeing but once before.  


Like out of a long-forgotten dream the words, ‘how ardently I admire and love…’ appeared in a hazzy mist in Elizabeth's conscious. Inexpicable shyness washed over her and she was forced to duck her head.  


‘Thank you, Mr. Darcy’ she replied with equal softness before making her excuses and escaping below deck to cry in her quarters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo I thought I should explain. I've taken the whole Wickham thing out of the equation from the get-go. Frankly, it's a little tiring hearing Lizzy defend the guy and slows down the romantic progression between L & D . I figure Darcys past insults and social awkwardness are enough of a hurdle already.


	9. Chapter 9

Darcy could scarcely believe his good fortune. It was surely providence that he should meet Miss Elizabeth once again after so many months. Though he would not deign to admit even to himself, there had been a fraction of guilt, and perhaps a vague sense of panic at first glance in recognition. 

Darcy had waged war upon himself since the fateful day he sent a piteously, grieving Elizabeth away in his coach. He had not known then whether to be thankful for the interruption of his rash proposal to a women of inferior birth, or to feel cheated of the assured love and marital felicity he might have known had she acquiesced. 

He had run himself in ragged mental circles until news had spread to London of almost an entire household by the name of Bennet being struck down by an infection fever that had been wrecking havoc all over the English countryside. Darcy knew he must go after her then; find Elizabeth and save her and her remaining family from their reduced circumstances. 

Ever the gallant suitor, Darcy came to a most frustrating realization upon arriving back to Longbourn and Meriton, where he was met with only cold civility or thinly veiled disdain. Failing to have taken proper leave of the neighbourhood with Bingley and his party in the fall, none were too welcoming of the returned gentleman. Whether out of misplaced loyalty to their former neighbours or outright hostility towards his person, Darcy could get no answers as to the whereabouts of the remaining Bennets. 

It was his aunt's blithering parson, Mr. Colin's of all people, who having taking hasty possession of the Longbourn estate, knew of his two eldest cousins direct departure to Cheapside with some unnamed uncle. With little to go on and a distaste for the merchant sector, Darcy's resolve had weakened once again. He persuaded himself in this same fashion that proposing marriage during Miss Elizabeth's morning period would be very ill form, indeed. 

Darcy had vowed to forget about Elizabeth Bennet, at least for a time. To see if his love for her was truly stout in the face of distance and time. He kept himself occupied- inquiring into offshore investments and acquiring new properties. He summered with his sister in Pemberly. He even planned a trip-easily undertaken by his solicitor, to tend a long neglected estate in Ireland which bore the Darcy family name. 

No matter his strenuous effects at distraction, Darcy could not control the nightly reoccurance of Miss Elizabeth in his dreams.

To see his lady-love standing on the very ship that was to take him away from her person was nigh unbelievable. All at once a tidelwave of emotion came thundering back. His chest tightened and his heart ached for the women who had captured his attention all those months ago. 

To see her in half-mourning clothes, with fresh tears in her eyes was enough to loosen his tongue and make him again act the love sick fool he supposed he had been all along for the lady. 

There was a small part of him that worried, perhaps, he had offended her. She, no doubt had been expecting his addresses and having been cast aside for so long- could be justified in her somewhat cooler reception of Darcy. However, the pretty colour staining Elizabeth's cheeks as she left him to go below deck was testament enough to her forgiveness. 

Darcy was utterly bewitched. He would ask for her hand before either set foot on land again.


End file.
